National Review Board Reports On 10 Years After Charter

June 13, 2012

Children safer now than decade ago

Those making allegations need
‘compassionate care’

No time for complacency despite significant
advances

ATLANTA—The National Review Board
(NRB), a lay group advising the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on
the handling of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, issued a 10-year progress
report, June 13, at the USCCB spring meeting in Atlanta.

The
NRB noted that “Ten years later, there has been striking improvement in the
Church’s response to and treatment of victims. Children are safer now because
of the creation of safe environments and action has been taken to permanently
remove offenders from ministry.”

“Yet, much work still needs to be
done,” the NRB said.

THE
NRB cited data that “found the incidence of abuse began to rise in the sixties,
peaked in the seventies and declined sharply in the eighties.” Even cases from
the past which are reported now, they said, “continue to fall into this same
pattern” and that “the hundreds of cases reported yearly continue to fall
within the timeline of the established curve.”

“These
results do not mean that the hurt of the abuse is in the past,” the report
said. “It is apparent that many people abused fifty years ago are still
hurting.”

The report said that “Strides have
been made in the work of healing and reconciliation.” The NRB said, for
example, that “prior to the Charter,
at least 25 dioceses/eparchies had Victim Assistance Coordinators (VAC); since
2002 all 195 dioceses/eparchies have them. The VAC assists the bishops in
responding to those making allegations in ways that promote healing and reconciliation.
The Church learned that responding to victims in a strictly legal manner did
not help either the victims or the Church. In the long run, the strictly legal
response caused more pain, did more damage and cost more money. The lesson
learned by the Church is clear: we must treat those making allegations of
sexual abuse with compassionate care.It
is not only the best solution but the right thing to do and an integral part of
the Church’s spiritual mission.”

“Policies
and procedures to carry out the Charter
have been implemented across the country,” the NRB said. “Prior to 2002, at
least 77 dioceses/eparchies had policies and procedures in place to respond to
allegations of sexual abuse. Now all 195 dioceses/eparchies have such policies
and procedures. Codes of conduct are in place for clergy, employees and
volunteers. All dioceses/eparchies have Review Boards whose responsibility is
to advise the bishop on whether or not a cleric accused of sexual abuse should
be reinstated or permanently removed from ministry. These boards consist of
laity and clerics, both diocesan employees and those not in the employ of the
diocese.”

The
NRB noted that “confidential settlement agreements with victims have been
abolished except when requested by the victim. Prior to 2002, when bishops
learned of incidents of abuse they may have quietly settled with the family of
the victim. Confidentiality agreements either at the request of the bishop or
the family were frequently a part of that settlement. The Charter forbids this practice and the audits over the past ten
years verify that in cases where confidentiality agreements were made, they
were only at the request of the victim.”

The
NRB said dioceses now realize that “cooperation with legal authorities is in
the best interest of the Church” and are “required to report all allegations of
sexual abuse of minors to public authorities and to cooperate with all
investigations on all matters of sexual abuse. They are also required to advise
victims of their right to make a report to public authorities. When one bishop
fails to do so, the whole Church suffers.”

The
board addressed the zero tolerance policy, saying it is “one of the more
controversial requirements of the Charter.
Some feel this is too harsh if, for example, behavior occurred many decades ago,
the NRB said, but concluded that “this policy is in the best interest of
children and the Church.” They pointed out that “convicted sex offenders cannot
be police officers, Boy Scout leaders, or teachers” and said, “They cannot be
allowed to remain members of the Catholic clergy functioning in public ministry
either.” They reported that data from 2004 found 4,392 clerics had allegations
made against them and an additional 1,723 clerics have had credible allegations
made against them since then. Many of the accused are now dead, but the NRB
said the Church “should take a special look at those men who have been removed
from public ministry.” The NRB said many dioceses have developed “safety plans”
for those clerics removed from ministry but not from the clerical state. “These
safety plans are critical to the continued protection of children,” the NRB
said. “Assignment to a life of prayer and penance must be taken seriously.”

The
NRB highlighted “boundary violation reports that involve international priests.”

“Behavior that might be culturally
appropriate in one place, may not be appropriate in U.S. culture,” the NRB
said. “This issue needs to be investigated more thoroughly and programs
instituted to help international priests learn U.S. cultural ways. Because
boundary violations mimic grooming behaviors,” the NRB said, “the National
Review Board recommends that the bishops take action to address boundary
violations made against any cleric.”

The
NRB cited lack of trust that bishops are handling the problem, even in the face
of proof that they are.

“Despite solid evidence many of the
faithful believe that sexual abuse by clergy is occurring at high levels and is
still being covered up by bishops. This suggests a trust problem that must be
met with scrupulous adherence to the Charter.”

The
NRB highlighted safe environments.

“Safe
environments are created by training clerics, employees, and volunteers who
work with children to understand the nature and scope of child sexual abuse and
how to prevent it in institutions,” they said. They cited statistics to
indicate what has been accomplished.

The NRB said dioceses have trained
and conducted background checks on 60,190 clerics and candidates for
ordination; 159,689 educators; 249,133 employees; 1.8 million volunteers. They
said they have trained “94 percent of the 5.1 million students attending
Catholic schools or parish religious education programs” and that “annually,
$20 million is spent on safe environment programs.”

The NRB said that “problems exist
with the coordination between religious orders and dioceses” and said there are
still instances where dioceses are not informed of religious order priest
offenders living in the diocese until it is too late. The NRB recommended “dialogue
between bishops and religious superiors within the diocese on a yearly basis to
address these issues.”

The
NRB warned against “complacency or Charter
drift – that is, thinking 10 years of action is enough and programs and
vigilance can be taken for granted or worse, watered down.”

“While the current trend shows a
decrease in clergy sexual abuse, we must never let our guard down. Now is not
the time to drift away from the moral requirements of the Charter and the legal requirements of reporting. Children must be
protected. Bishops must continue to work toward restoring the trust of the
faithful. Only when bishops are seen as following through on their promise to
protect and pledge to heal will the faithful begin to trust them to take care
of their most precious gift – their children.”

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Keywords: National Review Board, U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, Charter for the Protection of
Children and Young People, Al Notzon III

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